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04-22-2008 WSApril 22, 2008 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - Apri122, 2008 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on April 22, 2008, at the Hopkins City Hall. Council members Riclc Brausen, Kristi Halverson, Bruce Rowan and Cheryl Youakim were present. City staff present were City Manager Rick Getschow, Facilities Director Jay Strachota, Membership & Volunteer Manager Lynn Anderson; Director of Planning Kersten Elverum, City Attorney Bob Dieke, Public Works Director Steve Stadler, and Building Maintenance Superintendent Norb Kerber. Also present were Mike Smerdon, Earl Zent and Nate Stulc of the Hennepin County Assessors Office. Annual Assessor Update Mr. Smerdon said Hopkins did better with property values than most area cities, going down only slightly. Residential values (105 sales) went down 1.6%, condos (53 sales) went down 5%, and townhomes (35 sales) went down 3.3%. Properties are on the market longer than before, but prices are close to what they were a year ago. Mr. Zent noted there is more negative growth than before, and tax expenses will go up, especially on commercial property as those values mostly did not go down. Foreclosures skew percentages; condos were hit the hardest. Answering Mr. Brausen, Mr. Smerdon said in 2008 61 Hopkins properties went on sheriff's sales (the first step in foreclosure), 39 of which were condos or townhomes. There is no market for duplexes. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Zent said foreclosures are part of the problem, but market conditions are the bigger problem. Banks are becoming much more cautious about lending. Mr. Stulc commented that his real estate agent told him that sales were 50% above what the agency had projected last month. Mr. Getschow noted that currently there are 71 on the list which was sent to the utilities. He has a map of those, which are concentrated in south Hopkins. Mr. Zent noted they are also listed on the County website. Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center had much higher numbers. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Zent said commercial properties are holding steady or inching up slightly. Hopkins showed a +2% growth, due partly to the Cargill building, which accounted for 18 million of the 30 million dollars growth. He is cautious because he is starting to see commercial properties start to slow down. He knows of no foreclosures. Cargill will be Hopkins' "guiding star". Mr. Brausen commented that the total reassessment of Hopkins properties over the past couple years is unfortunate as values had been grossly underrated and values shot up. Now owners feel they should go down that much. Mr. Smerdon added that the assessors have to use figures that are based on the twelve months that ended six months ago. Mr. Zent said MLS throws everything into their ratings, including foreclosures, which they do not feel is appropriate. Everything comes back to employment and cost of goods. Mr. Smerdon said they would be at the open book session on May 6 from 5:00- 7:00; residents may also call at any time. Mayor Maxwell asked what information residents should bring when they see the assessors. Mr. Smerdon said figures on sales in their area and appraisals. They have the right to appeal by June 4. April 22, 2008 Page 2 Hopkins Center for the Arts Update Facilities Director Jay Strachota said Art Center rentals are up; a major lease with Hopkins School District was just completed. Today Stages received word they will receive a $200,000 grant from McKnight for capital improvements. $120,000 of this will be used for astate-of--the-art stereo sound system. We are getting a good price as it will be the first of its kind in the area, and the company has already made arrangements to pay rent for the theater so they can demonstrate it to customers. Later he added it should be installed in August. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said he does not know if the system can be extended to the Jaycee Room, but he will aslc. The office alterations are complete; he is continuing to work on getting the information desk built. Storage space continues to be a challenge; a donated storage bin will be put behind the building to store the crates and supplies for Velocity. Lynn Anderson started March 3 as a part-time Membership and Volunteer Manager. The Board transition is going well. The state has finally approved the papers, so bank accounts, etc. can be transferred and the change completed. Ms. Anderson said there are eight members so far, seven of them new, and we are working with MAP for nonprofits to recruit non-Hopkins people. She is working on membership renewals right now. She is establishing links with the websites of the State Arts Board, MPR, Jazz 88, and art supply stores. She is working on fund raising; a small event will be May 16-19 when Linders' Greenhouse will give the Center 15% of sales to customers who mention Hopkins Center for the Arts. She is planning to have a major fund raiser for fall 2009, and has talked to Triple Espresso and How to Tallc Minnesotan so far. The goal is to get sponsors for the entertainment so all ticket sales, etc. will go to the Center. Ms. Youalcim suggested that if this is decided by Raspberry Festival, a float would be good publicity. Ms. Anderson said she is considering a car donations program, using a commercial group. Mayor Maxwell directed her to run that by the city attorney. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Strachota said the budget is done, but Ms. Hanna-Bibus would be the one to aslc questions. Mr. Getschow noted it was done with the city budget as the city does the bookkeeping. The Friends budget is very small. Mr. Strachota said memberships are down a little; staff is talking about combining business membership with sponsorship; concert subscriptions are up. Walls-up attendees are down. Next Saturday the new season will be posted. We are working to get involved, with more community projects, such as the TC Jazz Festival the third Sunday in June if we can get a grant. It would be good to get a "big name" concert on Raspberry Festival Saturday night as tying a community event and a concert would result in much more press coverage. Mr. Getschow asked if that would conflict with the street dance. Mr. Brausen said if done right, they would complement each other. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Strachota said Raspberry events would be mid-stage. Ms. McLean is working on getting performers who need to fill spots on a tour so we can get them cheaper. Answering Ms. Youalcim, he said a list of local caterers is supplied to people doing events in the Center. Mayor Maxwell said the plans are a good start, but more excitement needs to be generated. Mr. Brausen noted programming has improved. Now it needs to be expanded to a new kind of audience. He still feels a "ticket tax" would be a good revenue source. Mr. Getschow added alternative funding is essential, especially with the economy slowing. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Strachota said Ms. McLean gets a fee for brokering talent and also does some advertising for the Center. Apri122, 2008 Page 3 Fifth Avenue Flats Project Ms. Elverum said questions have been raised about using Dan Wilson and sharing information. There is no agreement on price. The Met Council says if Hopkins uses condemnation, they would withdraw their money. Hennepin County would not, but we need to apply by May 1. She feels the withdrawal of the Met Council would not end the project as the original developer had used high estimates for clean-up costs. The resolution passed at that time is still good so we can meet the May 1 deadline. Ms. Elverum gave Council members an outline of points to cover when asked questions by residents. Answering Council questions, Ms. Elverum said staff thinks Park Plaza meets code requirements. Mr. Getschow will check if it meets all requirements for apartments. Attorney Dieke noted LHB made findings when they did the TIF District. The state has redefined "blight" since the project started. Answering Mr. Rowan, Mr. Dieke said "highest and best use" and "key property" are standard phrases in appraisal work. Answering Ms. Youakim, Mr. Dieke said he would look into the comp plan to see if it could have language that would help. General consensus was to make an offer May 6; if it is rejected, a public hearing could be held May 20. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Dieke said his office has kept the other attorney fully informed. He also directed Mr. Dieke to confer with the co- attorney before implementing anything. Ms. Elverum said the owner of 525 Mainstreet is "entrenched," and an offer needs to be made there also. Fuel Purchase Discussion Public Works Director Steve Stadler said Hopkins buys its fuel through a state contract. We are not signatories, but are allowed to buy through it, just as we do for much of the city equipment. Mayor Maxwell said since fuel is such a big ticket item, the Council wanted to know how it is handled. Mr. Kerber noted the price changes daily. Answering Mr. Rowan, he said same-day delivery happens only 20% of the time, so the price may be different on the day other loads are delivered. He has to balance the city's need against the load delivery the company wants. Riclc Getschow noted Minnetonka gets their fuel independently. Mr. Stadler said he will get comparisons on the prices charged for on- and off-contract loads. Cat Ordinances Mr. Getschow said at present Hopkins has no cat ordinance. Mr. Rowan commented if the cat owner is responsible, a letter from the city should be enough to settle problems. Mayor Maxwell said such a letter could be done under city policy, which wouldn'.t need an ordinance. Ms Youakim said she feels this would be an ordinance in search of a problem. Mr. Brausen asked what the minimum needed is to do the job without hiring staff. Mr. Getschow said it would be to establish policy rather than ordinance. Mayor Maxwell noted there is a limit on number of pets allowed already in place. General Consensus was to not pursue an ordinance. Mr. Getschow will put a sample letter in the next update packet. April 22, 2008 Page 4 Other Ms. Youakim asked if anyone planned to attend the League of Minnesota Cities annual conference. She asked if we license check-cashing businesses. Mr. Getschow said Hopkins has none, the one nearby is a Minnetonka business. Mr. Brausen said has tried before to get a good definition of "capacity," and has been unable to do so. Mr. Getschow said he has already put that on his list of topics for work sessions. Mr. Brausen added concerts are going well, as is Stages. What else can be plugged in? Mr. Rowan said the fire alarm going off during opening night was a huge success. The fire trucks were there in 5-7 minutes, the exit plan went well, the audience applauded the actors when the play resumed. On motion by Ms. Halverson and second by Ms. Youakim, the meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m. on a vote of 5-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary COUNCIL MEMBERS: ,- "l. ~.